Hinge assembly

ABSTRACT

A hinge assembly for doors and the like in which the door frame forms an integral part of the hinge assembly. The door frame is provided with a cutout of a predetermined shape wherein two inwardly spaced edges of the cutout act as mounting surfaces for the hinge butts and collectively cooperate with the hinge butts to secure the hinge pin. The remaining cutout portion, positioned between the aforementioned spaced cutout portions and extending inwardly therefrom provides clearance for the hinge strap. The protruding edge of the door frame containing the cutouts further provides protection against damage for the edge of the door carrying the hinge straps. The transverse edges of the spaced cutout portions further serves as the means for retaining the upper and lower ends of the hinge pin. The employment of the special cutout eliminates the need for additional mechanical means such as welding, cotter pins or threaded hinge pins and cooperating trapped nuts normally employed in conventional systems to mount the hinge pin to the hinge butts.

United States Patent [1 1 Tenenbaum et a1.

[451 Aug. 13, 1974 HINGE ASSEMBLY [75] Inventors: Paul Tenenbaum,Glenside; Howard Yurgevich, Levittown, both of Pa.

[73] Assignee: Strick Corporation, Fairless Hills,

[22] Filed: June 29, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 267,699

[56] References Cited 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1936 Wanders 16/128 1H1969 l-lull 9/1970 Kellems 16/128 Primary ExarrtinerBemard A. GelakAttorney, Agent, or FirmOstrolenk, Faber, Gerb & Soffen 1 ABSIRACT Ahinge assembly for doors and the like in which the door frame forms anintegral part of the hinge assembly. The door frame is provided with acutout of a predetermined shape wherein two inwardly spaced edges of thecutout act as mounting surfaces for the hinge butts and collectivelycooperate with the hinge butts to secure the hinge pin. The remainingcutout portion, positioned between the aforementioned spaced cutoutportions and extending inwardly therefrom provides clearance for thehinge strap. The protruding edge of the door frame containing thecutouts further provides protection against damage for the edge of thedoor carrying the hinge straps. The transverse edges of the spacedcutout portions further serves as the means for retaining the upper andlower ends of the hinge pin.

The employment of the special cutout eliminates the need for additionalmechanical means such as welding, cotter pins or threaded hinge pins andcooperating trapped nuts normally employed in conventional systems tomount the hinge pin to the hinge butts.

9 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PAIENTEnms 31924 I 3,828476 sum 1 or 3PAIENIEDwmmu 3,828,476

sum 2 or 3 1 HINGE ASSEMBLY The present invention relates to doorassemblies and more particularly to a novel hinge assembly for doors andthe like in which the door frame functions as an in- .tegral part of thehinge assembly to thereby simplify the.

hinge assembly and reduce the number of components.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I-linge assemblies typically employed formounting doors to their associateddoor frames are usually comprised;ofhinge butts which receive a hinge pin normally retained in place bywelding the hinge pin, providing a cotter pin or threading the hinge pinand providing a bolt or other fastening member to secure the hinge pinto the hinge butts.

In hinge assemblies especially of the type employed to mount doors forportable containers or trucktrailers it is important to provide a hingeassembly which is rugged and reliable even after continued use and roughhandling, which is of a design to prevent removal of the hinge assemblyandwhich is capable of protecting the door edge carrying the hingestructure from being damaged. In addition thereto, it is highlydesirable to provide a hinge assembly which is simple in design,comprises a minimum number of components and which is lower in cost thanconventional hinge assemblies from the viewpoint of both production andassembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND OBJECTS riencing any linearmovement along the longitudinal axis of the hinge pin by the pair ofspaced hinge butts. The hinge butts are preferably secured to theprojecting portion of the housing by rivets or huck bolts which make itextremely difficult to gain access to the housing by removal of thehinge assemblieswhen the doors are in the closed position the projectingportions of the housing are positioned immediately adjacent the edge ofthe doors upon which the hinge straps are mounted so as to protect thedoors from being damaged.

The special cutouts provided in the projecting portions of the housingalso significantly reduce the profile of the hinge assembly such thatthe hinge assembly projects only slightly beyond the projecting edge ofthe housing to reduce the possibility of damage or breakage of the hingeassemblies.

The hinge assembly is simple in design and is comprised of a minimum ofcomponents and further eliminates the need for additional means toretain the hinge pin in the assembly so as to reduce the cost of bothmanufacture and assembly of the hinge structures.

It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a novelhinge assembly for use in mounting doors to frames in which the framethat carries the hinge assembly forms an integral part thereof.

' Still another. object of the present invention is to provide a novelhinge assembly for mounting doors to frames in which the frame isprovided with a projecting portion having a special cutout for receivingthe components of the hinge structure whereby the special cutout reducesthe number of components of the hinge structure and simplifies the hingestructure design The present invention is characterized by providing anovel hinge assembly in which the door frame upon which the hingeassembly is mounted serves the dual function of forming an integral partof the hinge assembly as well as protecting the edge of the door uponwhich the hinge assembly is mounted from being damaged.

The present invention is especially advantageous for use in truck bodiesand truck trailers as well as in portable structures such as intermodalcontainers carried by trailer chassis, ship orrail.

The housing. upon which the hinge assemblies are mounted is providedwith an outwardly extending projection which serves as the frame whichdefines the door opening and also as a protective member for preventingdamage to the edge of the door upon which the hinge assemblies aremounted.

A special cutout is provided along the outwardly extending projection ateach location adapted to receive a hinge assembly. The cutout portion iscomprised of S a pair of spaced edges positioned inwardly fromthe freeedge of the projection which serve as the means for mounting a pair ofhinge butts and which cooperate with the hinge butts to completelyencircle a hinge pin mounted therein. Shoulders adjacent each of thespaced cutout edges further serve as the means for prewhile at the sametime providing a hinge structure having a low profile and wherein theprojection protects the edge of the door upon which the hinge assemblyis mounted from being damaged.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The above as well as other objects ofthe present invention will become apparent when reading the accompanyingdescription and drawings in which:

. FIG. ,1 is a sectional view showing a conventional hinge assembly.

FIG. 1a is an elevational view of the conventional structure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of the sembly of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2a is a perspective. view of the hinge assembly of FIG. 2 showingthe installed hinge.

- FIGS. 2b and 2c illustrate alternative arrangements of hinge butts forthe hinge assembly.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the .manner in which the hingeassembly hinge butt is mounted to the rear post corner of a trailer.

FIG. 4 shows a view of the hinge assembly of FIG. 2a looking in thedirection of arrows 4-4.

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the installed hinge assembly of FIG. 2ashowing the notched relationship relative to the hinge pin and hingebutt.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIGS. 1 and 1a show a conventionalhinge assembly 10 mounted to the-rear post comer ll of a truck trailer,for example, which rear post comer is secured to the hinge astrailerbody bu suitable fastening means such as, for example, the bolt 12 andfastening nut 13. Whereas additional fastening assemblies are normallyemployed,

they have been eliminated from FIG, 1 for purposes of simplicity.

The hinge assembly is comprised of a hinge butt 14 I having a pair ofmounting arms 14a and 14b arranged at right angles to one another toembrace the outermost corner of the post rear corner 11. The fasteningassemblies l5 secure the arms 14a and 14b to the post rear corner 11.The hinge butt is provided with a pair of projecting portions 14c and14d for receiving a hinge pin 16. The spaced portions 14c and 14dembrace a hinge strap therebetween as shown best in FIG. 1a. The hingepin 16, shown best in FIG. la, is headed at its upper end and 15athreaded at its lower end 15b, to threadedly engage fastening nut 17,respectively. The door (not shown for purposes of simplicity) is securedto hinge strap 18 through the use of fastening members (not shown) whichextend through openings 18a provided in the free end of hinge strap 18and which normally I threadedly engage the surface of the door. It canbe seen from FIGS. 1 and la that the hinge butt extends well beyond theedge of the rear post corner and requires a separate fastening member(nut 17) to secure the hinge pin in place.

FIGS. 2-5 show the novel hinge assembly 20 of the present invention inwhich the housing frame of the container upon which the doors aremounted forms an integral part of the hinge structure. While not shownfor purposes of simplicity such door assemblies are normally comprisedof a pair of doors which open at the center rear of the trailer bodywith the hinge assemblies being mounted at both rear corners of thetrailer body. Typically, a plurality of hinge assemblies are employedalong each rear corner of the trailer body. As shown best, for example,in FIGS. 2 and 2a, the housing may be a truck body having a rear cornerpost 21 provided with an outwardly extending projecting portion 21a.Projection 21a is provided with a cutout 22 having a pair of spacededges 22a and 22b embracing a spaced edge 22c positioned between edges22a and 22b and extending a greater distance inwardly from the outermostedge of projection 21a. Whereas it is obvious to provide a plurality ofcutouts for each associated hinge assembly, only one of said cutoutswill be described herein for purposes of simplicity.

Projecting portion 210 is further provided with openings 23 forreceiving suitable fastening members to mount the hinge butts of thehinge assembly in a manner to be more fully described.

The hinge assembly is further comprised of a pair of hinge butts 24 and25 each having a circular shaped portion 24a and 25a defining asubstantially circular shaped opening 24b and 25b, respectively. Theopenings 24b and 25b are not completely continuous and, in fact, definea narrow neck portion 24c and 256 which defines a gap between a pair ofmounting legs 24d-24e and 25d-25e, respectively. Each of the pairs oflegs '24d-24e and 25d-25e are provided with openings 26, with theopenings of the pairs of legs being in alignment with one another.

The substantially circular-shaped openings 24b and 25b are adapted toconform to the shape of an elongated cylindrical shaped hinge pin 27 soas to receive the upper and lower ends of hinge pin 27, respectively,wtihin the openings 24b and 25b.

A hinge strap 28 comprised of a substantially flat portion 280 has anenlarged circular shaped portion 28b integrally joined thereto. Enlargedportion 28b is provided with an opening 28c for receiving hinge pin 27while flat .portion 28a is provided with openings 29 for receivingfastening members to secure the trailer door to the hinge strap.

FIG. 2a shows best the manner in which the hinge assembly is installedto the corner post projection 21a with the assembly steps being asfollows:

The special cutout 22 is formed in projection 21a and the openings 23are also formed in the projection.

The hinge pin is mounted within the hinge strap in the manner shown bestin FIG. 2. The open section hinge butts, each of which have two legsadapted to fit over the projection 210, are slipped over opposite endsof hinge pin 27 so as to occupy the relative positions shown best inFIG. 2a.

The assembly is then mounted to the corner post projection 21a and isoriented so that the pairs of legs of each hinge butt straddle thecorner post projection 21a in the region of edges 22a and 22b. Each edge22a and 22b cooperates with its associated hinge butt to completelyencircle the end of the hinge pin mounted therein. For example, FIG. 3shows edge 22a cooperating with the opening 24b in hinge butt 24 tosubstantially completely encircle the upper end of binge pin 27. Thelower hinge butt 25 cooperates with edge 22 in a similar fashion.

With the hinge butts in position, suitable fastening means 33 such as,for example, rivets or huck bolts are mounted through openings 26 in thelegs of hinge butts 24 and 25 as well as the openings 23 provided in thecorner post projection 21a so as to secure the hinge butts thereto.

The edges 22f and 22g which respectively join edge 22c to edges 22a and22b serve as the means for restraining hinge strap 28 from experiencingany linear movement in the direction of the longitudinal axis 27a ofhinge pin 27.

One distinct advantage of the hinge assembly is that it permits use ofdifferent length hinge pins and different width hinge straps. Forexample, to accommodate a hinge strap of a greater width W (see FIG. 2)the length of edge 220 may be accordingly increased by a commensurateamount. A larger hinge pin may be employed to span the increaseddistance between top and bottom edges 22d and 22e.

If desired a hinge strap of reduced length may be employed by reducingthe length of edge 22c. Also, the hinge pin upper and lower ends mayextend respectively beyond the top of butt 24 and the bottom of butt 25while the pin is nevertheless restrained from move ment along itslongitudinal axis simply by increasing the distnace between upper andlower edges 22d and 22e.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show best the manner in which the extreme upper and loweredges 22d and 22e function to extend over the top and bottom ends ofhinge pin 27 and thereby prevent the hinge pin from experiencing anylinear movement along its longitudinal axis 27a.

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 show best the manner in which the hinge butts aresecured to rear post comer 21 wherein it can be seen that the cutoutportion 22 of the corner post projection 21a cooperates with the hingeassembly so as to provide an assembly having an extremely low profile.This low profile can be compared with the profile of the conventionalhinge assembly of FIGS. 1 and 1a which can be seen to project beyond theoutermost edge of the post rear assembly to a much greater distance thanthe assembly of the present invention.

It should further be noted that the special cutout eliminates the needfor the additional fastening member 17 shown in FIG. la which isrequired to secure the hinge pin 16 to the hinge butt assembly.

In addition thereto it can best be seen from a consideration of FIG. 3that the projecting portion 21a of post rear corner 21 serves as aprotective edge for preventing the ege 31a of door 31 from beingdamaged. It can be seen that the corner post projection 21a extends overthe entire length of the vertical mounting edge of the door to providethis protective feature. As shown best in FIG. 3, the door 31 may befitted with a gasket 32 for sealing the region between the post rearcorner 21 and the door to provide a good seal between the vertical edgeof the door and the rearward portion of the post rear corner when thedoor is in the closed position.

As shown in FIG. 2a, the hinge butts 24 and 25 may be formed of a singlehinge butt unit by the intergral strap portion S, if desired. The strapportion may alternatively be provided to join either only the outer legsof the hinge butts, as shown in FIG. 2a, or the inner legs of the hingebutts, as shown in FIG. 2b, or both, as shown in FIG. 2c. In any ofthese three alternative arrangements, it should be noted that the mannerof installation is basically of the same with the exception that thehinge strap should first be positioned between the hinge butts and thehinge pin is then dropped through the hingebutt opening and the hingestrap opening whereupon this assembly is then positioned within thespecial cutout arrangement provided in projection 2la in the same manneras has been previously described and whereby all the advantageousfeatures of the embodiments previously described are retained.

It can be seen from the foregoing description that the present inventionprovides a novel hinge assembly for use in mounting doors todoor framesin which the door frame is provided with a special cutout which forms anintegral part of the hinge assembly to simplify the design of the hingeapparatus and reduce the components employed as well as providingportection for the edge of the door which is secured to the hinge strapwhile further providing a protective edge to prevent the door from beingdamaged. The invention is extremely advantageous for use in portableassemblies employed in transportation industries such as trailer mountedcontainers and trailers. The employment of fastening members such asrivets further prevents the doors from being opened by removal of thehinge assemblies thereby providing further protection of the trailercontents from being stolen.

Although there has been described a preferred embodiment of this nvoelinvention, many variations and modifications will n0w. be apparent tothose skilled in the art. Therefore this invention is to be limited, notby the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appending claims. I

What is claimed is:

l. A hinge assembly for mounting a door to a door frame, saidframe-comprising a vertical post having an outwardly extending elongatedprojection extending outwardly to a free end;

said projection having a cutout portion for receiving the hinge assemblyand forming an integral part of said hinge assembly;

said cutout portion having first and second substantially straight edgesspaced from one another along the length of said projection and spacedinwardly from the free end of said projection, and a third edgeextending between and spaced inwardly from said first and second edges;

the outer ends of said first and second edges being respectively joinedto the free end of said elongated projection by first and secondshoulders;

the inner ends of said first and second edges being respectively joinedto said third edge by third and fourth shoulders;

first and second U-shaped hinge butts each comprised of a curved centralportion integrally joined to a pair of spaced parallel legs;

said curved portion having a central opening;

the side of said opening adjacent said legs having a gap extendinglengthwise along the length of said spacing;

a hinge strap comprising a flat elongated portion adapted to be securedto a door;

one end of said flat portion being enlarged in thickness and having anopening therethrough;

an elongated hinge pin extending through the openings in said hingebutts and said hinge strap for pivotally mounting said hinge strap tosaid hinge butts;

said hinge strap enlarged portion being positioned between said hingebutts;

the legs of said hinge butts being arranged to straddle said elongatedprojection with the gaps therein each receiving an associated one ofsaid first and second edges;

fastening means for securing said hinge butts to said elongatedprojection;

said first and second shoulders being respectively positioned adjacentthe upper and lower ends of said hinge pin to restrain the hinge pinfrom experiencing any movement along its central axis.

2. The hinge assembly of claim 1 wherein said third and fourth shouldersare respectively positioned adjacent the upper and lower edges of thehinge strap enlarged portion to prevent said hinge strap fromexperiencing any linear movement in the direction of said hinge pinlongitudinal axis.

3. The hinge assembly of claim 1 wherein said third edge is spacedinwardly from said first and second edges by an amount sufficient toreceive the portion of the hinge strap adjacent said enlarged end toprovide sufficient clearance for the hinge strap to open and close saiddoor and to permit said door to move to the fully closed positionwithout interference.

4. The hinge assembly of claim 1 wherein the outer legs of said hingebutts are integrally joined together by a strap to form a unitary hingebutt assembly.

5. The hinge assembly of claim 1 wherein the inner legs of said hingebutts are integrally joined together by a strap to form a unitary hingebutt assembly.

6. The hinge assembly of claim 1 wherein the inner and outer legs ofsaid hinge butts are integrally joined together by a strap to form aunitary hinge butt assembly.

7. The hinge assembly of claim 1 wherein said elonfrom beingeasily'removed from said door frame.

1. A hinge assembly for mounting a door to a door frame, said framecomprising a vertical post having an outwardly extending elongatedprojection extending outwardly to a free end; said projection having acutout portion for receiving the hinge assembly and forming an integralpart of said hinge assembly; said cutout portion having first and secondsubstantially straight edges spaced from one another along the length ofsaid projection and spaced inwardly from the free end of saidprojection, and a third edge extending between and spaced inwardly fromsaid first and second edges; the outer ends of said first and secondedges being respectively joined to the free end of said elongatedprojection by first and second shoulders; the inner ends of said firstand second edges being respectively joined to said third edge by thirdand fourth shoulders; first and second U-shaped hinge butts eachcomprised of a curved central portion integrally joined to a pair ofspaced parallel legs; said curved portion having a central opening; theside of said opening adjacent said legs having a gap extendinglengthwise along the length of said spacing; a hinge strap comprising aflat elongated portion adapted to be secured to a door; one end of saidflat portion being enlarged in thickness and having an openingtherethrough; an elongated hinge pin extending through the openings insaid hinge butts and said hinge strap for pivotally mounting said hingestrap to said hinge butts; said hinge strap enlarged portion beingpositioned between said hinge butts; the legs of said hinge butts beingarranged to straddle said elongated projection witH the gaps thereineach receiving an associated one of said first and second edges;fastening means for securing said hinge butts to said elongatedprojection; said first and second shoulders being respectivelypositioned adjacent the upper and lower ends of said hinge pin torestrain the hinge pin from experiencing any movement along its centralaxis.
 2. The hinge assembly of claim 1 wherein said third and fourthshoulders are respectively positioned adjacent the upper and lower edgesof the hinge strap enlarged portion to prevent said hinge strap fromexperiencing any linear movement in the direction of said hinge pinlongitudinal axis.
 3. The hinge assembly of claim 1 wherein said thirdedge is spaced inwardly from said first and second edges by an amountsufficient to receive the portion of the hinge strap adjacent saidenlarged end to provide sufficient clearance for the hinge strap to openand close said door and to permit said door to move to the fully closedposition without interference.
 4. The hinge assembly of claim 1 whereinthe outer legs of said hinge butts are integrally joined together by astrap to form a unitary hinge butt assembly.
 5. The hinge assembly ofclaim 1 wherein the inner legs of said hinge butts are integrally joinedtogether by a strap to form a unitary hinge butt assembly.
 6. The hingeassembly of claim 1 wherein the inner and outer legs of said hinge buttsare integrally joined together by a strap to form a unitary hinge buttassembly.
 7. The hinge assembly of claim 1 wherein said elongatedprojection extends substantially the entire length of the edge of thedoor receiving said hinge assembly and is positioned outside of saiddoor edge to protect the said door edge from being damaged.
 8. The hingeassembly of claim 1 wherein said fastening means are rivets to preventsaid hinge assembly from being easily removed from said door frame. 9.The hinge assembly of claim 1 wherein said fastening means are huckboltsto prevent said hinge assembly from being easily removed from said doorframe.